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Thursday, December 19, 2013

A City In The Philippines Just Gave Us The Most Powerful Example Of Interfaith Cooperation

In
September, Zamboanga City in the Philippines was ravaged by an armed conflict
between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the local government. The
battle created tension between local Christians and Muslims, but when the
fighting ended, members of both religious groupsjoined forces to pick up the pieces, the Inquirer
Mindanao reports.

Among the damaged buildings
was the Christ the King chapel, a Catholic church. Local Christians -- who make
up the majority of Zamboanga's population, according toa
news release from the Asia Foundation-- were
shocked when their Muslim neighbors came to help them rebuild the church's
walls.

“We thought they were just looking for damaged mosques to
rebuild,” Jimmy Villaflores, the village head of Zamboanga's Santa Catalina
district, told the Inquirer. "We have not heard of any Muslim helping
build a chapel before." A group of religious
leaders called ESPERANZA (Environmental, Socio-Psychological, Economic, and
Religious Advancement of Neo-Zamboangaenos’ Aspiration) was formed to help
repair relations following the conflict. Theycalled together the group of
Muslim volunteerswho
helped with the construction efforts, the Pinoy Republic reports.

Within a month, the chapel was almost 90 percent reconstructed,
and together, the group of interfaith builders was able to complete it in time
for the feast of Christ the King on November 30.

“I did not want the general Christian community to look down on us
as bad people because we were all victims,” retired senior police officer
Julmunier Jubail told the Inquirer. “We do hope that in our own small ways of
reaching out, something beautiful will come out.”